For this was on seynt Volantynys day
Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese his make.
It’s all Chaucer’s fault! He was the first major writer to begin associating Valentine’s Day with romantic love as seen in the passage above from The Parlement of Foules, written in 1382 to honor the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. His seasonal reference of birds choosing mates is tied to the date of the engagement and to the liturgical calendar date of May 2, which honored Valentine of Genoa.
Over time, the May 2nd date referenced by Chaucer slipped to February 14 when two other Christian martyr’s named Valentine were celebrated – namely Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Trevi. The February date is also notable because it coincides with the Roman celebration of fertility and sex called Lupercalia celebrated February 13-15.
The idea of Valentine’s Day being associated with romantic love spread quickly after Chaucer’s publication and by 1415, we have the earliest surviving Valentine written after the Battle of Agincourt by Charles, Duke of Orleans while imprisoned in the Tower of London. In it, the Duke laments beings lovesick for his sweet Valentine.
Je suis desja d’amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée…
Shakespeare’s Ophelia mentions Valentine’s Day in Hamlet written between 1600 and 1601 and John Donne references it in the poems that he wrote to celebrate the marriage of Elizabeth of England to Frederick, Count Palatine slightly later in the 17th Century.
Today, Valentine’s Day is celebrated all over the world. In North America and Europe the tradition is a time of gift-giving between couples or romantic partners. In Central America it is often celebrated as a day of love and friendship, and in some countries of South America it is time to celebrate one’s “secret friends”.
In Asia, in Japan and Korea, women give gifts (especially chocolates) to men, who return the favor one month later. In Taiwan, the opposite is the case. Men give gifts in February and women give gifts in March. It is also a time to propose marriage to a loved-one or even to get married – as is popular in Thailand.
The Egyptians celebrate Valentines Day in February as well as an indigenous love celebration in November. Valentines Day is also catching on in India and in Iran, despite criticism from the state and religious authorities.
I have some delicious hand-made truffle chocolates for my chocolate-loving husband and will probably get a lovely orchid from him along with a card.
How do you celebrate Valentine’s Day?
(Words by Laura Kelley. Photo of Heart-Shaped Kiwi by Dominik Kramer.)